My Life and Quest, Arthur Oborne, #1

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Arthur Osborne - by Katya Douglas [Osborne]

 

This is the Foreword to My Life and Quest, by Arthur Oborne,

written by his daughter Katya. It is a very touching account for

those who love Arthur Osborne.

 

 

Many years after my father's death in 1970, I opened an old suitcase

and found several of his unpublished manuscripts. It is strange that

they remained buried and unknown for so long, but perhaps now is

the time for this story to be told. Reading through them it was intriguing

to see how true his voice was, and how it endured over the years.

One of these documents was his autobiography that he entitled

"The Mountain Path, My Quest."

 

Later when he founded the quarterly magazine for Ramanasramam

he used the title 'Mountain Path' for that, so we decided to leave it out

of his work in order to avoid confusion.

 

It is an apt title for the chronicle of his life which was dedicated firstly,

to finding the path, and once he was sure he had found the right one

he was utterly commited to it. His poetry as much as his prose show

what a struggle it was for him at times, how he fought with darkness

and despair, but, as he poinnts out, a man who is climbing Mount

Everest does not stop to play the violin. Through all his vicissitudes

his faith in Bhagavan was unwavering, and Bhagavan recognised in him

his humility and dedication. Sometimes when he was sitting in the hall

with his eyes closed in meditation Bhagavan would look at him with

such love that it could move one to tears. Even as a child I recognised

this as something very special.

 

.................

to be continued